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Bringing Digital Waveforms To Life Through Machinery

Waveforms have become such an ordinary part of life thanks to the ubiquity of audio software and things like Soundcloud that we often take for granted that being able to see sound, along with its near present and future in the wave, is actually pretty amazing. Artist Daniel Palacios has made the waveform a piece of physical art that encourages us to ponder the utility and the beauty of visual sound.

Waves is an installation that uses two motors to oscillate a length of rope, creating a visual reminiscent of a digital waveform while creating it’s own whipping hum from the motion of the rope cutting through the air.

The above video shows the contraption in action with several viewers inspecting its motion, including a couple of unsupervised kids engaged in some good old fashioned horseplay way to close to Waves. Only a matter of time before someone gets too close and receives a severe lashing courtesy of a work of art. This might be an equipment upgrade for Julius von Bismarck.